Planning and preparing for a wedding is a complex and highly stressful affair. The pressure for the day to go well, for all the various wheels to be turning in the right direction at the right time, builds over time to such a degree that when the big day arrives, often the simplest of things gets forgotten.
How many grooms have arrived at the venue and realized they have forgotten their shoes, speech, or even the rings.
So this short article is dedicated to giving those very men a pragmatic checklist of items that they must absolutely remember to pack the night before the big day. Follow our list, and you can be sure that married life will set off on a positive note.
The wedding rings
If you haven’t already given them to the best man, make sure that you put your wedding rings somewhere safe. There are a lot of blokes out there who are not used to wearing designer jewellery for men, so remembering to bring the rings is not in their immediate consciousness.
Shoes
Picture it – you’re fiancée has been building up to this day for the best part of a year. Your entire outfit has been carefully chosen to match not only her own bridal gown, but the bridesmaid, the groomsmen, the mother of the bride and the table decorations. No detail has been left untouched – except the groom’s own fault of forgetfulness.
It might not seem the greatest of crimes to forget the shoes, but if your only other option is a pair of white Nike Forces which are completely ad odds with the rest of the wedding design, your bride to be is not going to be a happy bunny.
So make sure you pack your wedding shoes. They may not be your usual style of shoe. They may be a little bit uncomfortable. But they are essential to a smooth start to your marriage.
Your speech
Did you know that it takes about an hour to write 600 words. 600 words in the form of a speech will take approximately five minutes to ‘present’. So if you are speaking for a good 15 to 20 minutes you will have toiled over your groom’s speech for several hours – not including the various revisions, the frustrations when facing a blank page, and the often abandoned attempts.
So how maddening would it be to get to the reception, reach into your pocket and for your fingers to meet nothing but emptiness. That’s when you realize that you left the final version of your speech on the printer at work, after printing it out in a rush on your last day in the office before your wedding.
The solution is simple – keep a version on your phone. Because the one thing none of us ever forget these days is your phone. And even on wedding days that phone has its place as your wait at the altar.
Cash
While you may not be paying for the wedding on the actual day, there are going to be a lot of people whose job is to make things run as smoothly and problem-free as possible. You never know when you might need a bit of cash – whether it’s for paying for a taxi to get rid of a drunken uncle making too many advances, or giving someone a tip simply because they have proven themselves to be invaluable in making sure the day runs smoothly.
So make sure that you have a sensible amount of cash tucked away in your suit pocket for just those occasions.
We wish you the best of luck on your big day, and a long and happy life with your new wife.
